1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device having an upper terminal body and a lower terminal body, which are connected via a hinge so as to allow the mobile terminal device to be opened and closed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile telephones include integral mobile telephones and folding mobile telephones. In particular, folding mobile telephones are superior in portability because the mobile telephones are compact in a closed state (folded state).
However, liquid crystal displays provided on the folding mobile telephones are generally placed on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower terminal bodies of the folding mobile telephones in such a manner to be viewed in an opening state. Namely, in the closed state, the liquid crystal displays cannot be viewed.
The inability to view the liquid crystal displays when only the telephone function is used in not inconvenient. However, in the present day, various functions, such as e-mail access and Internet access, have been added to mobile telephones. When a received e-mail is read, or when various sites are viewed by accessing Internet, folding mobile telephones need to be opened every time to expose the liquid crystal displays, which is considerably troublesome. Additionally, in some cases, an e-mail message needs to be read in a crowded place. Thus, the opening operation is quite troublesome in a limited free space.
The above-described problem can be solved by placing the liquid crystal displays on the outer and inner surfaces of the upper and lower terminal bodies of the folding mobile telephone. However, it is quite uneconomical to have more liquid crystal displays. In addition, the thickness in the structure of the folding mobile telephone is increased, thereby contradicting a compact size, which is an advantage of folding mobile telephones.
Thus, in view of the above-described problem, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3075258 discloses a folding mobile telephone with a flipped display. Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Heisei 10-155013 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-151781 (division of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Heisei 10-155013), the applicant of the present invention has proposed portable communication apparatuses which can change fixed forms of folding mobile telephones according to preference and use, though the publications are not devised to solve the above-described problem.
In the folding mobile telephone with a flipped display that is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3075258, a receiver-side case having a liquid crystal display and a transmitter-side case are connected so as to be flipped by 180 degrees around a hinge, and the liquid crystal display is exposed in a closed state if necessary.
Moreover, in the portable communication apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Heisei 10-155013, one or more kinds of connectors including a bending type, a rotating type, and a straight line type are prepared for electrically and structurally connecting an upper case and a lower case, and the connectors are properly selected according to use and preference to connect the upper case and the lower case via the connectors. Besides, in the portable communication apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-151781, cases with forms suitable for use are arbitrarily selected, and an upper case and a lower case are connected via a connector for making electrical and structural connection.
However, as to the folding mobile telephone with a flipped display that is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3075258, although the structure of the rotating part is not discussed in detail, it is suggested that the compact size is not achieved due to a rotating part as long as the receiver-side case having the liquid crystal display is flipped by 180 degrees. In addition, it is considered that a prescribed locking mechanism is necessary for preventing the receiver-side case from rotating when a telephone function is used (the case is likely to rotate because the receiver is pressed to an ear), resulting in a more complicated mechanical structure.
Moreover, the portable communication apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Heisei 10-155013 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-151781 do not present a technical idea for viewing a liquid crystal display in the closed state.